Systems and methods for dynamically affecting power dissipation in a disk drive including a fixed output voltage regulator

ABSTRACT

A disk drive system includes a fixed output voltage regulator including an output terminal that provides a substantially fixed output voltage. A plurality of loads, each includes a voltage supply terminal. A programmable resistor bank which is adapted to selectively provide a plurality of different resistances, is connected in series between the output terminal of the voltage regulator and the voltage supply terminals of the plurality of loads. One of the plurality of different resistances can be selected to adjust a voltage provided to the voltage supply terminals of the plurality of loads.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is related to the following commonly assignedapplication, which was filed on the same day as the present application,and which is incorporated herein by reference: U.S. Application PatentNo. 10/______, entitled SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR REDUCING POWERDISSIPATION IN A DISK DRIVE INCLUDING A FIXED OUTPUT VOLTAGE REGULATOR(Attorney Docket No. PANAP-01106US0).

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to disk drive devices, and morespecifically, to reducing power consumption in such devices.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Over the past few years, notebook computers have become progressivelythinner and lighter, and battery technology has improved significantly;but, though both thinner and lighter, notebook computers haveincorporated ever-more powerful CPUs, larger and higher resolutionscreens, more memory and higher capacity hard disk drives. Feature-richmodels include a number of peripherals such as high-speed CD-ROM drives,DVD drives, fax/modem capability, and a multitude of different plug-inPC cards. Each of these features and improvements creates demand forpower from system batteries. Many portable electronics, such as MP3players and personal digital assistants, now use rotatable data storagedevices as well, and by their nature and size place great demands forpower on batteries.

Accordingly, there is a continued need to find additional ways to reducethe demand on batteries. Some disk drive manufacturers have employingpower savings schemes that save power at the expense of performance. Itwould be beneficial to further reduce power dissipation in disk drives.It would be beneficial if such power saving features did not affectperformance.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Disk drives often include fixed output voltage regulators and/oradjustable output voltage regulators to power the various functionalblocks or components (collectively referred to as loads) within thedrives. Each regulator can be responsible for powering a single load, ormore likely, multiple loads.

For example, many separate loads of a disk drive system are oftenpowered by a substantially fixed output voltage of a fixed outputvoltage regulator. Typically, the power dissipated by the fixed outputvoltage regulator and the loads is greater than is necessary to operatethe loads. Embodiments of the present invention are directed to systemsand methods for reducing power dissipation in such environments.

For another example, many separate loads of a disk drive system areoften powered by the output voltage of an adjustable output voltageregulator. However, even when using an adjustable output voltageregulator, typically, the power dissipated by the adjustable outputvoltage regulator and the loads is greater than is necessary to operatethe loads. Embodiments of the present invention are also directed tosystems and methods for reducing power dissipation in theseenvironments.

Anywhere between none to all of the loads, powered by a single voltageregulator, can be active at one time. In accordance with embodiments ofthe present invention, the loads are monitored to determine which loadsare active. Then based on which loads are active, adjustments areperformed to make sure that each active load is sufficiently powered,but without wasting power.

Further embodiments, and the features, aspects, and advantages of thepresent invention will become more apparent from the detaileddescription set forth below, the drawings and the claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF FIGURES

FIG. 1 is a high level block diagram that is useful for understandinghow a fixed output linear voltage regulator can be used to drivemultiple loads of a disk drive device.

FIG. 2 is a high level functional block diagram of a typical fixedoutput linear voltage regulator.

FIGS. 3A-3C and 4 illustrate embodiments of the present invention thatare useful for reducing power dissipation in an environment including afixed output linear voltage regulator.

FIG. 5 is a high level block diagram that is useful for understandinghow an adjustable output linear voltage regulator can be used to drivemultiple loads of a disk drive device.

FIG. 6 is a high level block diagram that is useful for understandingfurther embodiments of the present invention that are useful forreducing power dissipation in an environment including an adjustableoutput linear voltage regulator.

FIG. 7 is a high level functional block diagram of a typical adjustableoutput linear voltage regulator.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram of an exemplary disk drive system in whichembodiments of the present invention are useful.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram that useful for explaining why a specificresistor type voltage divider network is not a preferred solution forreducing power dissipation in a disk drive system.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Embodiments of the present invention relate disk drives, and morespecifically, to ways for reducing power consumption by disk drives.

Fixed Output Voltage Regulators

A disk drive (e.g., a hard disk drive or an optical disk drive) oftenincludes one or more fixed output voltage regulator circuits. Forexample, there may be one voltage regulator that provides a fixed 3.3Voutput (+/−some tolerance), and another voltage regulator that providesa fixed 1.2V output (+/−some tolerance). The 3.3V regulator may be used,for example, to power DRAM, flash memory, and the interface portions ofa system ASIC, while the 1.2V regulator may be used, for example, topower the digital logic within the system ASIC.

FIG. 1 shows a fixed output linear voltage regulator 102 that is used todrive multiple loads 106 ₁ . . . 106 _(N) (of a disk drive system),which can be treated as multiple parallel loads. The loads 106 can be,for example, an DRAM, a host interface, a front end of a read/writechannel, and/or any of the other numerous blocks or components of a diskdrive system. Each of the loads 106 ₁ . . . 106 _(N) may be active (andthus pull a current) or inactive (and thus pull no or minimal current)at any give time. In other words, none, some, or all of the loads canactive at one time. When active, a load requires at least its minimumoperating voltage and its minimum operating current in order to operateproperly.

For completeness, a decoupling capacitance 104, which is often placedbetween a regulator and a load(s), is also shown. The linear voltageregulator 102 receives an input voltage (V_(IN)), which can be, forexample, about 5V. As can be seen from FIG. 1 (and FIGS. 3-6) the lowrail voltage 108 for the linear voltage regulator (which can be ground)is typically the same low rail voltage of the loads 106. The internalcomponents of the fixed output linear voltage regular are designed suchthat the regulator will provide a substantially fixed output, which canbe, for example, 3.3V+/−0.03V, regardless of swings in V_(IN). In orderto do this, there is typically a feedback signal within the linearvoltage regulator that enables an output to be compared to a target orreference voltage, in order to create an error signal for increasing ordecreasing the output. This will now be explained in more detail withreference to FIG. 2.

FIG. 2, which is a functional block diagram of a typical fixed outputlinear voltage regulator, is useful for understanding how suchregulators operate. FIG. 2 is just an exemplary model of a fixed outputlinear voltage regulator, which is not meant to limit the scope of thepresent invention. A reference block 202 produces a stable referencevoltage (V_(REF)) that should not be (or only minimally is) affected bychanges in temperature, age, voltage input (V_(IN)), etc. There are wellknown circuits for producing the stable reference block 202 (e.g., usingzener diodes), which need not be described herein. The stable referencevoltage V_(REF) is provided to an input (e.g., a non-inverting input) ofan amplifier 206. The other input (e.g., the inverting input) of theamplifier 206 receives an amplifier output voltage (V_(OUT)) as afeedback signal. The output voltage (V_(OUT)), through use of thefeedback, remains substantially fixed, +/− a tolerance (e.g., +/−1%).

Fixed output linear voltage regulators are designed such that they donot allow the reference or target voltage (V_(REF)), and thus the outputvoltage (V_(OUT)), to be adjusted. Fixed output regulators can be, forexample, off-the shelf stand alone regulators, or voltage regulatorsthat are built into ASICS that include additional functionality. Thesetypes of voltage regulators are often incorporated into disk drivesbecause they are easy to use, inexpensive, and do not require circuitadjustments.

On the other hand, fixed output voltage regulators have some inherentdisadvantages. For example, even if it is determined that loads drivenby the regulator (e.g., loads 106 ₁. . . 106 _(N) in FIG. 1) do notrequire an operating voltage as high as the fixed V_(OUT), fixed voltageregulators do not provide a mechanism for adjusting the target output(i.e., for adjusting V_(REF)). This results in excess or wasted powerdissipation. Specific embodiments of the present invention are usefulfor reducing overall power dissipation when using a linear voltageregulator in which the reference (also know as target) voltage, and thusoutput voltage (V_(OUT)), is not readily adjustable. Such embodimentsshall now be described beginning with reference to FIG. 3A.

FIG. 3A is identical to FIG. 1, except for the addition of a resistor302 connected in series between an output node 304 of the linear voltageregulator and the parallel loads 106 ₁ . . . 106 _(N). Referring to FIG.3A, the resistor 302 will cause the voltage at node 306 to be less thanthe voltage at node 304, which is V_(OUT). In other words, the resistor302 will cause the voltage at node 306 (and thus the voltage acrossparallel loads 106) to be less than the output voltage V_(OUT) of thelinear voltage regulator 102. This will result in less power beingdissipated by the entire system, because less current will flow throughthe loads 106 ₁ . . . 106 _(N), and less voltage will drop across loadsthe 106 ₁ . . . 106 _(N), resulting in less current being drawn from thelinear voltage regulator 102 (due to conservation of current). It isnoted that there will be some power dissipated by the added resistor302. However, the power dissipated by the resistor 302 is minisculecompared to the power saved.

Various factors should be taken into account when selecting anappropriate value for the resistor 302. The characteristics of thedownstream loads 106 ₁ . . . 106 _(N), that will be driven by the outputof the particular voltage regulator 102, should be taken into account.The characteristics of interest, which are typically published bymanufacturers of the loads, include the minimum operating voltagenecessary and the minimum operating current necessary to operate eachload. For this embodiment, in order to ensure that each of the loads canbe driven, the voltage at node 306 should not drop or sag below thehighest of these minimum operating voltages. Further, it should beassumed that there will be times when all loads the 106 ₁ . . . 106 _(N)will pull current at the same time (i.e., under maximum load condition).In other words, it should be assumed that a total or maximum current,equal to all the minimum operating currents added together, may be drawnat one time (i.e., at the same time) from the voltage regulator 102. Afurther factor to be taken into account is the minimum output voltagethat the voltage regulator 102 will output (e.g., a 3.3V voltageregulator that has tolerance of +/−0.03V, has a minimum output voltageof 3.27V).

Taking the above factors into account, the value for the resistor 302can be selected. This can be accomplished by first determining thevoltage difference between the minimum output voltage of the regulator102 (i.e., assume a week regulator) and the highest minimum operatingload voltage. For example, if the voltage regulator 102 has a minimumoutput voltage of 3.27V, and the highest minimum operating voltageassociated with the parallel loads voltage is 3.12V, then the voltagedifference is 0.15V (i.e., 3.27−3.12=0.15). Using ohms law (i.e., V=IR), a value for the resistor 302 can be calculated by dividing thisvoltage difference (e.g., 0.15 V) by the maximum amount of current thatmay be pulled by loads 106 ₁. . . 106 _(N) at one time (i.e., undermaximum load condition). To be safe, the value of the resistor can bemade slightly lower than the calculated value.

The above described embodiment provides an easy and inexpensive way ofreducing power dissipation, when using a fixed output voltage regulator.In the above described embodiment, a fixed resistance is placed inseries between the fixed output of the voltage regulator 102 and theloads 106. As will be discussed below with reference to FIGS. 3B and 3C,various circuit elements can be used in place of the resistor 302.However, adjustable resistance embodiments will first be discussed withreference to FIG. 4.

Referring to FIG. 4, in accordance with another embodiment of thepresent invention, an adjustable resistance is used to dynamicallyadjust the drive voltage at node 306. Such an adjustable resistance canbe accomplished, for example, using a resistor bank 402, which includesa plurality of switchable or selectable resistors 402 ₁ . . . 402 _(N)in parallel. For example, each resistor has a respective switch, asshown in FIG. 4. The switches can be implemented, for example, usingtransistors. Each resistor 402 can have the same resistance, or morelikely, each resistor 402 is differently weighted to provide for a widerrange of possible resistances. The resistors 402 can be weighted in aprogressive fashion (e.g., R, 2R, 3R, 4R), a binary fashion (e.g., R,2R, 4R, 8R), or in any other arrangement. The values of the resistorscan even be selected such that a specifically calculated resistancevalues can be achieved for every possible combination of loads 106 ₁ . .. 106 _(N). The appropriate or desired resistance preferably produces avoltage at node 306, which is equal to or slightly greater than thehighest minimum voltage associated with an active load, as well asprovide a current sufficient to operate all the active loads. Preferablythis current is only slightly greater than the minimum operatingcurrents of the active loads added together.

In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, a digitalcontroller 410 receives a control signal that specifies whichresistor(s) (e.g., within the resistor bank 402) is/are to be selected(e.g., which switches are to be closed). Alternatively, the controlsignal specifies a desired resistance, and then the digital controller410 determines and selects the appropriate resistors to achieve thedesired resistance (or the closest to the desired resistance aspossible). In another embodiment, the digital controller 410 receives anindication as to which of the loads 106 ₁ . . . 106 _(N) are active(e.g., the controller 410 can monitor enable signals, lines or pinsassociated with the various loads). Then the digital controller 410 usesan appropriate algorithm(s) and/or lookup table(s) (e.g., stored in anaccessible memory 412, preferably within the disk drive system) todetermine the appropriate resistance that should be programmed. Thedigital controller 410 can be dedicated to the above functionality.Alternatively, the digital controller can be implemented by amicroprocessor that also performs other functions for a disk drivesystem.

For example, assume that a first load 106 requires a minimum drivevoltage of 2.80V, a second load 106 requires a minimum drive voltage of2.90V and a third load 106 requires a minimum drive voltage of 3.20V.Each load also has an associated minimum operating current. None, one,two or all three loads may be active at once. The digital controller 410can monitor the loads, or receive notifications, to determine whichloads are active at any give time (e.g., by monitoring enable signals,lines or pins associated with the loads). Based on this, the digitalcontroller 410 can determine an optimal (or near optimal) resistance toprovide using the resistor bank 410, and select the resistor(s) withinresistor bank 402 accordingly. For example, if the first load (2.8V min)and the second load (2.9V min) are active, but the third load (3.2V min)is not, then the voltage at node 306 is preferably equal to or slightlyabove 2.9V, with sufficient current provided to drive the two out ofthree active loads. As different loads become active and inactive, theresistance can be accordingly changed to produce optimal or near optimaldriving voltages and currents that are sufficient to drive the activeload(s) without wasting power.

In summary, in the embodiment of the present invention discussed withreference to FIG. 4, a controlled adjustable resistance is placed inseries between the fixed output of the voltage regulator 102 and theloads 106. While the embodiment discussed with reference to FIG. 4 isslightly more complex than the embodiment discussed with reference toFIG. 3A, it should provide for increased power savings.

Referring now to FIG. 3B, an operational amplifier U is used in place ofthe resistor 302. The resistors R1 and R2 are selected (e.g., using adigital controller) such that the gain of the amplifier U is less thanone (e.g., 0.80). In this manner, the voltage at node 306 is droppedbelow the fixed output voltage at node 304. More specifically, resistorsR1 and R2 are selected such that the voltage 306 is equal to (orslightly greater than) the highest minimum operating voltage associatedwith the parallel loads 106 ₁ . . . 106 _(N).

In accordance with another embodiment of the present invention, resistorR1 and/or R2 can be adjustable, e.g., by replacing one or both of theresistors with a resistor bank similar to resistor bank 402, discussedwith reference to FIG. 4. In a manner similar to that just describedwith reference to FIG. 4, the adjustable resistances can be used toadjust the feedback voltage at feedback node 310, to thereby allow fordynamic adjustment of the drive voltage at node 306 (which is providedto the voltage input terminals of the loads 106). For example, a digitalcontroller (e.g., a microprocessor) can be used to dynamically adjustresistances, and thereby the drive voltage at node 306, based on whichloads are active and/or based on a control signal.

Referring now to FIG. 3C, a transistor Q is used in place of theresistor 302. In the embodiment shown, the transistor Q is a p-channelMOSFET in which the source is connected to node 304, and the drain isconnected to node 306. The gate receives a biasing voltage V_(BIAS) thatis produced, e.g., using a voltage divider network including resistorsR1 and R2. Arranged in this manner, the FET acts a voltage controlledresistor, with the resistance specified by V_(BIAS). More specifically,resistors R1 and R2 are selected such that the voltage 306 is equal to(or slightly greater than) the highest minimum operating voltageassociated with the parallel loads 106 ₁ . . . 106 _(N).

In accordance with another embodiment of the present invention, resistorR1 and/or R2 can be adjustable, e.g., by replacing one or both of theresistors with a resistor bank similar to resistor bank 402, discussedwith reference to FIG. 4. In a manner similar to that just describedwith reference to FIG. 4, the adjustable resistances can be used toadjust the bias voltage at bias node 312, to thereby allow for dynamicadjustment of the drive voltage at node 306 (which is provided to thevoltage input terminals of the loads 106). For example, a digitalcontroller (e.g., a microprocessor) can be used to dynamically adjustresistances, and thereby the drive voltage at node 306, based on whichloads are active and/or based on a control signal. Other types oftransistors can alternatively be used. For example, a p-channel JFET canbe used in place of the MOSFET.

In the embodiments of FIGS. 3B and 3C, the impedance of resistors R1 andR2 (or resistor banks used in their place) should be sufficiently high(i.e., multiple KΩ) that only the minimal necessary current flows acrossthese resistors, to thereby minimize power dissipation by theseresistors. For example, the total resistance of R1 and R2 is preferablyat least one order of magnitude greater than the resistance produced byany of the loads 106 ₁ . . . 106 _(N). This is possible for theembodiment of FIG. 3B, because the input to the amplifier U does notrequire a large current. Similarly, in the embodiment of FIG. 3C, thegate of the transistor Q does not require a significant current.

Adjustable Output Voltage Regulators

Adjustable output linear voltage regulators are sometimes used (ratherthan fixed output voltage regulators) to power disk drive systems, or atleast portions of disk drive systems. With an adjustable output voltageregulator, the output voltage can be adjusted, typically using a voltagedividing resistor network to specify a feedback voltage. FIG. 5 shows anadjustable output linear voltage regulator 502 that is used to drivemultiple loads 506 ₁ . . . 506 _(N), which can be treated as multipleparallel loads.

FIG. 7 is a functional block diagram of a typical adjustable outputlinear voltage regulator. FIG. 7 is just an exemplary model of anadjustable output linear voltage regulator, which is not meant to limitthe scope of the present invention. As can be appreciated from FIG. 7,V_(OUT)≈V_(REF)*(1+R1/R2). Thus, by selecting the appropriate values forresistors R1 and R2, an appropriate power saving V_(OUT) can beselected. For example, assume that the highest minimum voltage necessaryfrom one of the parallel loads 506 ₁ . . . 506 _(N) (driven by theadjustable output voltage regulator 402) is 3.15V, and that theadjustable output voltage regulator (e.g., with a range of 1.2V to 5V)has a tolerance of +/−1%. Using this information, resistors R1 and R2can be selected so that V_(OUT) will be 3.19 V (i.e.,3.15+(0.01*3.15)=3.19 rounded up). While setting V_(OUT) equal to orslightly above the highest minimum operating voltage may be used toreduce power dissipation, it does not take full advantage of thecapabilities of an adjustable output regulator.

In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, V_(OUT) isdynamically adjusted during operation of a disk drive system, in orderto further reduce power dissipation. This is accomplished, in accordancewith an embodiment, using a programmable or adjustable resistor network602 that controls V_(OUT). An exemplary implementation of this is shownin FIG. 6.

In FIG. 6, the programmable resistor network 604 is shown as includingbanks of switchable resistors R1 ₁ . . . R1 _(N) and R2 ₁ . . . R2 _(N).The programmable resistor network 604 can be used to specify (i.e., set)the resistance on either side of a feedback node 606, which provides thefeedback voltage for the adjustable voltage output regulator 602. Theprogrammable resistor network 604 can include a pair of resistor banks,as shown. Each of the resistor banks can be similar to resistor bank404, discussed above with reference to FIG. 4. In the embodiment shown,both the resistances above and below the feedback node 606 are shown asbeing selectable. However, it is also possible that only the resistanceabove node 606, or only the resistance below node 606, is adjustable.

In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, a digitalcontroller 610 selects the appropriate resistors within the resistornetwork 604. For example, the digital controller 610 receives a controlsignal that specifies which resistor(s) (e.g., within the resistornetwork 602) is/are to be selected (e.g., which switches are to beclosed). Alternatively, the control signal specifies a desiredresistance, and then the digital controller 610 determines and selectsthe appropriate resistors to achieve the desired resistance (or theclosest to the desired resistance as possible). In another embodiment,the digital controller 610 receives an indication as to which of theloads 506 ₁ . . . 506 _(N) are active (as was discussed above withreference to FIG. 4). Then the digital controller 610 uses anappropriate algorithm(s) and/or lookup table(s) (e.g., stored in anaccessible memory 612, preferably within the disk drive system) todetermine the appropriate resistance that should be programmed. Thedigital controller 610 can be dedicated to the above functionality.Alternatively, the digital controller can be implemented by amicroprocessor that also performs other functions for a disk drivesystem.

Exemplary Environment

FIG. 8 illustrates an exemplary disk drive 800, in which embodiments ofthe present invention may be useful. The exemplary disk drive 800includes at least one rotatable storage medium 802 (i.e., disk) capableof storing information on at least one of its surfaces. The numbers ofdisks and surfaces may vary from disk drive to disk drive. In a magneticdisk drive, the storage medium 802 is a magnetic disk. In an opticaldisk drive, the storage medium 802 would be an optical medium. Anactuator arm 806, can be used to position a read/write head 804 overselected tracks of the disk 802 for reading or writing. The read/writehead 804 can include one or more transducers for reading data from andwriting data to a magnetic medium, an optical head for exchanging datawith an optical medium, or another suitable read/write device. It shouldbe understood that various head configurations may be used withembodiments of the present invention.

A servo system can include a voice coil motor driver 808 to drive avoice coil motor (VCM) 830 for rotation of the actuator arm 806, aspindle motor driver 812 to drive a spindle motor 832 for rotation ofthe disk 802, a microprocessor 820 to control the VCM driver 808 and thespindle motor driver 812, and a disk controller 828 to acceptinformation from a host 822 and to control many disk functions. The host822 can be any device, apparatus, or system capable of utilizing thedisk drive 800, such as a personal computer or Web server. The diskcontroller 828 can include an interface controller in some embodimentsfor communicating with the host 822, and in other embodiments a separateinterface controller can be used.

The microprocessor 820 can also include a servo system controller, whichcan exist as circuitry within the drive or as an algorithm resident inthe microprocessor 820, or as a combination thereof. In otherembodiments, an independent servo controller can be used. Additionally,the microprocessor 820 may include some amount of memory such as SRAM,or an external memory such as SRAM 810 can be coupled with themicroprocessor 820. The disk controller 828 can also provide user datato a read/write channel 114, which can send signals to a currentamplifier or preamp 116 to be written to the disk 802, and can sendservo signals to the microprocessor 820. The disk controller 828 canalso include a memory controller to interface with memory 118. Memory818 can be DRAM in some embodiments that can be used as a buffer memory.The microprocessor 820 may also perform the functions of the digitalcontrollers 410 and 610 discussed above.

Each of the blocks or components in the disk drive 800 can be thought ofas loads that must be powered at certain times during operation of thedisk drive 800. More specifically, all or some of these loads may bepowered by voltage regulators. For example, the digital portions of theread/write channel 814, portions of the disk controller 828, and themicroprocessor 820 may all require an operating voltage of about 1.2V,and thus may all be powered by a common voltage regulator. Similarly,the analog portions of the read/write channel 814, the host interfaceportion of the disk controller 828, and the DRAM 818 may all need anoperating voltage of about 3.3V. Each block or component can receivemore that one input voltage. For example, the analog portion of theread/write channel 814 may receive a first input voltage (provided by afirst voltage regulator) that is different than a second input voltage(provided by a second voltage regulator) used to power the digitalportions of the channel 814. Each voltage regulator may be a fixedoutput voltage regulator or an adjustable output voltage regulator. If avoltage regulator is a fixed output voltage regulator, then theembodiments of the present invention discussed with reference to FIGS. 3and 4 can be used to reduce power dissipation (i.e., to save power). Ifa voltage regulator is an adjustable output voltage regulator, then theembodiments of the present invention discussed with reference to FIG. 6can be used to reduce power dissipation.

Some of the blocks or components shown in FIG. 8 may be combined into amultifunctional application specific integrated circuit (ASIC). Forexample, the read/write channel 814, the disk controller 828, themicroprocessor 820 and the SRAM 810 can all be built into a single ASIC.Such an ASIC can include one or more input voltage terminals to acceptone or more driving voltages.

Although the description of disk drive 800 is more typical of a harddisk drive than an optical disk drive, embodiments of the presentinvention can be used in any type of rotatable media store drivesincluding optical drives (e.g., CD and DVD drives).

The blocks or components that are active during data accesses typicallyconsume (i.e., dissipate) a relative large amount of power. In mostmobile drive applications, there is a large dwell time between dataaccesses. A benefit of embodiments of the present invention is that theytake advantage of these dwell times by allowing the drive voltage to sagwhen data access occurs. More specifically, when data access occurs, theload current goes up, causing the voltage to sag. Power is saved byallowing the voltage to sag, because the current drawn or pulled isreduced. This reduction in current results in a reduction of power.

It is noted that it would not be desirable to use a simple voltagedivider network including a resistor network 902 that is parallel to theloads 106, as shown in FIG. 9, with drive voltage node 306 tapped offthe common terminal between the resistors R1 and R2. This is because theimpedance of the resistors R1 and R2 would be too high to provide thecurrent necessary to operate loads 106 ₁ . . . 106 _(N). Additionally, asignificant amount of power would be dissipated by resistors R1 and R2,causing the total system power dissipation to increase rather thandecrease.

While various embodiments of the present invention have been describedabove, it should be understood that they have been presented by way ofexample, and not limitation. It will be apparent to persons skilled inthe relevant art that various changes in form and detail can be madetherein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

The present invention has been described above with the aid offunctional building blocks illustrating the performance of specifiedfunctions and relationships thereof. The boundaries of these functionalbuilding blocks have often been arbitrarily defined herein for theconvenience of the description. Alternate boundaries can be defined solong as the specified functions and relationships thereof areappropriately performed. Any such alternate boundaries are thus withinthe scope and spirit of the claimed invention.

The breadth and scope of the present invention should not be limited byany of the above-described exemplary embodiments, but should be definedonly in accordance with the following claims and their equivalents.

1 A disk drive system, comprising: a fixed output voltage regulatorincluding an output terminal that provides a substantially fixed outputvoltage; a plurality of loads, each including a voltage supply terminal;and a programmable resistor bank, adapted to selectively provide aplurality of different resistances, connected in series between saidoutput terminal of said voltage regulator and said voltage supplyterminals of said plurality of loads; wherein one of the plurality ofdifferent resistances can be selected to adjust a voltage provided tosaid voltage supply terminals of said plurality of loads.
 2. The systemof claim 1, wherein a each of said plurality of resistances causes avoltage provided to said plurality of loads to sag, as compared to saidsubstantially fixed output voltage, when current is pulled, by one ormore of said loads.
 3. The system of claim 1, further comprising acontroller to select one of said plurality of different resistances. 4.The system of claim 3, wherein said controller selects one of saidplurality of difference resistances based on which of said plurality ofloads is active.
 5. The system of claim 3, wherein said controllermonitors said plurality of loads to determine which loads are active. 6.The system of claim 3, wherein said controller selects one of saidplurality of different resistance in response to a control signal. 7.The system of claim 3, wherein: said resistor bank includes a pluralityof selectable resistors connected in parallel with respect to oneanother; and said controller selects one or more of said selectableresistors to produce one of said plurality of resistances.
 8. The systemof claim 3, wherein said controller comprises a microprocessor.
 9. Adisk drive system, comprising: a voltage regulator including an outputterminal that provides an output voltage; a plurality of loads, eachincluding a voltage supply terminal; and a programmable resistor bank,adapted to selectively provide a plurality of different resistances,connected in series between said output terminal of said voltageregulator and said voltage supply terminals of said plurality of loads;wherein one of the plurality of different resistances can be selected toadjust a voltage provided to said voltage supply terminals of saidplurality of loads.
 10. A disk drive system, comprising: a voltageregulator including an output terminal that provides an output voltage;a plurality of loads, each including a voltage supply terminal; and aplurality of selectable resistors to selectively provide differentseries resistances between said output terminal of said voltageregulator and said voltage supply terminals of said plurality of loads;wherein one or more of said resistors is selected to adjust a voltageprovided to said voltage supply terminals of said plurality of loads.11. The system of claim 10, further comprising a controller to selectone or more of said resistors.
 12. The system of claim 11, wherein saidcontroller selects one or more of said resistors based on which of saidplurality of loads is active.
 13. The system of claim 11, wherein saidcontroller monitors said plurality of loads to determine which loads areactive.
 14. The system of claim 11, wherein said controller selects oneof said plurality of different resistance in response to a controlsignal.
 15. The system of claim 11, wherein said controller comprises amicroprocessor.
 16. A disk drive system, comprising: a voltage regulatorincluding an output terminal that provides an output voltage; aplurality of loads, each including a voltage supply terminal; and meansfor dynamically producing a further voltage, from said output voltage,said further voltage provided to said voltage supply terminals of saidplurality of loads.
 17. The system of claim 16, wherein said meanscomprises a plurality of selectable resistors.
 18. The system of claim16, wherein said means comprises an amplifier circuit including aresistor network that sets a feedback voltage, said resistor networkincluding a plurality of selectable resistors.
 19. The system of claim16, wherein said means comprises a transistor including a source drainpath, connected between said output terminal and said voltage supplyterminals, and a gate that receives a bias voltage specified by aresistor network.
 20. The system of claim 19, wherein said resistornetwork includes a plurality of selectable resistors that adjust saidbias voltage.
 21. The system of claim 16, wherein said means dynamicallyproduces said further voltage, based on which of said loads are active.22. The system of claim 21, wherein said means monitors said pluralityof loads to determine which loads are active.
 23. A method for reducingpower dissipation in a disk drive system including a linear voltageregulator having an output terminal that provides a substantially fixedoutput voltage for driving a plurality of loads that are connected inparallel, the method comprising: (a) inserting a resistor bank betweenthe output terminal of the linear voltage regulator and the plurality ofloads, said resistor bank capable of providing a plurality of differentresistances; and (b) controlling said resistor bank to provide one ofsaid plurality of different resistances.
 24. The method of claim 23,wherein each of said plurality of resistances causes a voltage providedto said plurality of loads to sag, as compared to the substantiallyfixed output voltage, when current is pulled, by one or more of saidloads.
 25. The method of claim 23, wherein said resistor bank includes aplurality of selectable resistors, and wherein step (b) includesselecting one or more of said resistors to thereby provide one of saidplurality of difference resistances.
 26. The method of claim 23, whereinstep (b) includes selecting one of said plurality of resistances basedon which of said plurality of loads is active.
 27. The method of claim26, further comprising the step of monitoring said plurality of loads todetermine which loads are active.
 28. The method of claim 23, whereinsaid resistor bank includes a plurality of selectable resistorsconnected in parallel with respect to one another; and wherein step (b)comprises selecting one or more of said selectable resistors to produceone of said plurality of resistances.
 29. The method of claim 23,wherein anywhere between none to all of the plurality of loads can beactive at one time, and wherein the more loads that are active the morecurrent that is pulled and the greater that the voltage provided to theplurality of loads sags, the method further comprising: selecting one ofsaid plurality of resistances such that each active load receives atleast its minimum operating voltage and current.
 30. The method of claim23, wherein each of the plurality loads has an associated minimumoperating voltage, and wherein step (b) includes selecting one of saidplurality of resistances such that the voltage provided to the pluralityof loads does not drop below a greatest minimum operating voltageassociated with an active load.
 31. The method of claim 30, wherein eachof the plurality of loads has an associated minimum operating current,and wherein step (b) includes selecting one of said resistances suchthat each active load receives at least its associated minimum operatingcurrent.
 32. A method for reducing power dissipation in a disk drivesystem including a linear voltage regulator having an output terminalthat provides a substantially fixed output voltage for driving aplurality of loads that are connected in parallel, the methodcomprising: (a) monitoring the plurality of loads to determine which ofthe plurality of loads are active; and (b) dynamically producing afurther voltage, from the substantially fixed output voltage, saidfurther voltage provided to the plurality of loads
 33. The method ofclaim 32, wherein step (b) includes dynamically producing the furthervoltage based on which of the loads is active.
 34. The method of claim33, further comprising monitoring the loads to determine which of theload is active.
 35. A method for reducing power dissipation in a diskdrive system including a linear voltage regulator having an outputterminal that provides a substantially fixed output voltage for drivinga plurality of loads that are connected in parallel, the methodcomprising: (a) inserting a transistor between the output terminal ofthe linear voltage regulator and the plurality of loads such that asource of said transistor is connected to the output terminal of thelinear voltage regulator, and a drain of said transistor is connected tovoltage supply terminals of the plurality of loads; and (b) providing abias voltage to a gate of said transistor, said bias voltage beingselected such that a voltage at said drain is less than thesubstantially fixed output voltage of the fixed output voltageregulator, yet greater than a highest minimum operating voltage of theplurality of loads.
 36. The method of claim 35, wherein step (a)comprises providing a resistor divider network to produce said biasvoltage.